rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (11/13/89)
I was interested in the posting of Blue Jays at Albuquerque(?). I did my thesis research in the Great Plains (working on hybridization between species pairs--viz. orioles). At that time, Blue Jays were not found in extreme western Kansas. Toward the end of my time there (late 1960s), thy had made it to extreme SW Kansas (my first hint of that was that the local mockingbirds had picked up the "jay" call; I didn't see the jays until a few months later). By the early '70s, they were in the foothills of Colorado, where (near Boulder) hybrids were reported. Anyone out there in netland know their current status in the Rocky Mountain states? I'd be curious to know. P.S. Migration continues here. Rough-legged Hawks common, and I saw my first Tree Sparrows on the week-end (reported eariler by others around here, I'm sure). Also, Fox Sparrows still around. --Jim RIsing -- Name: Jim Rising Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1 UUCP: uunet!attcan!utzoo!rising BITNET: rising@utzoo.utoronto.bitnet
jbh@hpcndaw.HP.COM (Joel Hurmence) (11/15/89)
>I didn't see the jays until a few months later). By the early >'70s, they were in the foothills of Colorado, where (near Boulder) >hybrids were reported. Anyone out there in netland know their >current status in the Rocky Mountain states? I'd be curious to >know. > Blue Jays are becoming increasingly common visitors to our feeders in Fort Collins (about 40 miles north of Boulder). We have been feeding at our house on the edge of the plains near the foothills for about 6 years. We didn't see any the first couple of years, and now we get them in groups of 3. We also had a Steller's jay this fall -- a first for us, they are not common below the foothills. I am told that blue and Steller's jays have interbred, producing viable offspring. A local naturalist told me one theory explaining the recent westward migration of blue jays and other birds. The reason was that the construction of dams in the last 100 years to control flooding on major east-flowing rivers has allowed a continuous growth of cottonwoods and brush cover along these rivers, providing corridors for birds that would otherwise not cross the treeless prairies. The cardinal is expected to find its way out here in the near future. Joel Hurmence jbh%hpcndaw@hplabs.hp.com